Notes / Commercial Description:
This is an American White Oak-aged version of Jai Alai India Pale Ale. The white oak adds smoothing notes of vanilla and slight hints of dill to the aroma and flavor profile. The finish is elegantly dry due to the light tannin notes from oak aging and though still loaded with hop flavor, hop bitterness is more restrained.

Wow. What an absolutely fantastic brew. And to think that I don't even like oaky flavors and aromas most of the time. Quite sweet for an IPA. The sweetness became more pronounced as the beer warmed up. Oak was definitely there but it was more complimentary than overpowering. Drinks a lot like a DIPA and it feels more full bodied than your average beer of this style.

Looks fine. Little hazy but a thick orange color is an obscuring factor in and of itself. Head wasn't massive, maybe about a finger of white foam.

Nose is pretty much like regular Jai Alai with all the grassy. Maybe there's a little more dandelion in there. Possibly something reminiscent of heat but I'm not certain.

Taste began in normal grassy fashion but took a momentary diversion down a slightly sour path but not so far that I was turned away. The bitter sticks around pretty well and serves as an accompanying layer to some back throat heat. Otherwise, this medium to light syrupy bodied beer isn't to different than the original but the heavier duty body and such reminds me of Pseudo Sue also.

Canned 11/10/16, pours very hazy gold color with a thick foamy 2 finger white head that was full of bubbles of all sizes, dissipating very slowly and leaving great looking foamy lacing and rings as it went down. The foamy dropped and settled into a layer on top that lasted for a few minutes.

The aroma is a mix of citrus and oaky/woody notes up front with lemon zest, orange peel, grapefruit, muscat grapes, fruit juice, coconut, vanilla, herbal earthy notes and wood from the white oak. It's got all the IPA citrus zest combined with some nice woody sweetness that somehow makes it seem balanced even though there's not much malt in play.

Tastes very similar to the nose with the citrus and oaky/woody notes up front, followed by the coconut and vanilla, then with the mix of lemon zest, orange peel, grapefruit, muscat grapes, pineapple juice, herbs, earthy notes, obviously some wood influence from the white oak and then some mild peppery spices. Almost has a Belgian IPA flavor about it until the vanilla and ashy wood come back and bring nice drying components.

Mouthfeel is creamy and velvety smooth with mild carbonation, a grapefruit-like bitterness but then vanilla a oaky notes as it finishes on the dry side. It trails off with some grainy notes and then seems like grapefruit juice evaporated in my mouth...pretty cool was to end each sip.

Overall a great off-shoot from the fantastic base Jai Alai IPA. This is different enough from the original with the white oak adding a lot more complexities and helping to completely mask the 7.5% ABV. A nice treat from Cigar City. I'm a huge fan of the regular Jai Alai so I will seek this out again,

Canned 11/10/2016. Poured into IPA glass. It ours a cloudy orange-amber color with a thick, soapy milk-white head and lacing with excellent retention. It smells of oak, vanilla, tangerine, and spice. Regular Jai Alai is a favorite of mine and this variant adds an added dimension. The sweet tropical fruit hits the tip of the tongue followed by oak and a fairly bitter finish on the back of the tongue. The overall flavor is dryer and less fruity than regular jai Alai. This ale is medium-bodied, moderately carbonated, and the 7.5% ABV presents no impediment to drinking several. Overall, it's nicely-crafted although I'm partial to the regular version.

Aging in barrels can be a messy, muddying affair - and you wouldn't want to filter out any of those rich, wonderful flavours the process imparts, would you? Fortunately virgin white oak spirals don't wreak the same havoc on appearance: White Oak Jai Alai is as clear and colourful as the original, with the same beaming orange radiance and solid, if a little spotty head.

The power of suggestion is an amazing thing. Lots of people claim to actually smell and taste hints of dill, just like the label says. I get where they're coming from, though I doubt I'd make the connection without the brewery's help. But who's to say? Fermentation creates all sorts of complex flavour compounds - and adding wood to the mix only adds to the intricacy.

Besides, the beer really is as advertised: tropical, juicy flavours of tangerine and clementine dominate both the nose and palate and vanilla and coconut also factor noticeably, as do nuances of toasty wood spice and sawdust. The taste has a lovely interplay between cantaloupe and caramel, while the oak also dials back much of the earthy, sometimes onion-y dankness of the original. It reminds me a lot of Alpine's Exponential Hoppiness (which is high praise indeed!)

Wood-aged IPAs aren't as popular as wood- or barrel-aged stouts but they make just as good of a base. The wonderful result that stems from the synergy between citrus and tropical fruit notes and creamy, vanillin-rich oak is something Chardonnay producers have understood for many decades - it's about time brewers caught on.

The addition of American oak similarly adds complexity without making things any more complicated. White Oak Jai Alai is still that juicy, over-the-top tropical hop cocktail that everyone knows and loves, albeit with an added touch of distinction, elegance and increased composure. Like the original, this one definitely lives up to all the hype!

The beer pours a nice foamy white head that takes a but to dissipate. The beer itself is an interesting clear orange . . . orange color. It's a good look but it resembles a bit like orange soda.

The smell is interesting and pretty unique. It has an interesting mixture and synergy between the light dill note and the orange citrus note from the hop notes. The white oak is fairly subtle and it easily gets overwhelmed by the dill and orange hop notes. There is a light bready yeast note and a nice sweet malt note as well.

The taste is good. The dill note and the hop bitterness are upfront with a stronger vanilla flavor and light wood notes from the white oak. It adds a nice flavor to it and fairly decent. The oak comes out more strongly as the beer warms a little.

The feel is good. It's a smooth medium body with some very light carbonation.

Overall, this is a pretty good beer and certainly very interesting. The taste and smell are fairly unique but the notes can be a bit harsh and difficult to session.

The nose is citrusy,maybe a little bit of grapefruit.Also some lemon grass,with hints of the white oak aging coming through...I'm not getting a ton of it though.

The palate is a lot like the standard Jai Alai,grapefruit and hops,with a nice solid back end, and a smooth finish.The difference being the white oak aging,and again some hints of lemongrass.Not much tingling from the hops,but it is definitely there.Nice medium body.

Overall a very nice IPA, definitely worth a try.And definitely a beer I will be drinking again.

LOOK: murky peach color; gigantic white head, fades to lacing.
AROMA: grapefruit, citrus...not as juict as regular Jai Alai, but similar smells.
TASTE: more muted fruit flavors, oak takes away from the strong citrus and tropical notes, they are still there, but less intense. Dryness and Dankness has creeped in. Boo.
LOOK: The oak smoothes out the acidity in regular Jai Alai, but also takes away from the flavor.

Still pretty good, and a well crafted ale, but of course this is going to be compared to it's base beer which is superior in my opinion.

A rare find here, my guy hooked me up good with this one! Poured from a 12oz can into a large tulip. Pours a hazy orangish Amber/gold color with a finger and a half of head that fades slowly and leaves plenty of lacing. Beautiful color, - nice haze, and a really pretty head. Smells of pine resin, bright citrus, oak, a small touch of vanilla. Great slightly complex nose! Taste is equally complex, with layers of fruity, slightly piney, citrusy, dank hops, followed by a touch of malt sweetness, then finishing with vanilla notes, oaky tannins. Awesome balanced layers of flavor on this one. With the hops being slightly dimmed, the oak flavor comes through very nicely. Feel is smooth and medium bodied. A very, very fine variation on an already stellar IPA. Love it!!

Poured from a can into a shaker pint, the beer is a slightly hazed, copper-gold coloring, with a thin, clingy, white head. Aromas of smooth citrus, subtle wood spice, and a hops blend that is grassy and herbal. Flavors are woody and resinous forward, with the dank wet grass and pine pitch being mellowed slightly by the wood spice and earthy undertones. Solid citrus follow, with grapefruit, orange, mango, and pineapple. Smooth, full body, with a dry, crisp edge. Solid spiced, herbal, and citrus linger past the dry, crisp finish. Very solid beer.

Canned 10/21/16. Pours a pretty hazed orange syrup color with two-and-a-half fingers of off-white head. Wood and pineapple in the aroma, with some slight white pepper behind. Even bigger oak up front in the taste, making a really interesting mix with the pineapple, tropical, spicy hops, that, yes, leaves a vanilla and dill impression and a touch of smokiness, too. Very light bitterness on the backend, but not enough to compete with the vanilla sweetness. Medium bodied, with a somewhat sticky, prickly mouthfeel. Not an every day drinker, but a fun beer to try.

L: a darker golden/Amber color with a finger of white head. Big lacing
S: nice tripical citrus, pineapple, mango
T: starts with big citrus, then the oakiness dries it out and finishes very slight bitterness.
F: very smooth and drinkable.

I am very glad that I was able to get my hands on a four pack of this, but I found regular Jai Alai to be superior. The additional flavors of vanilla, oak and spices are pleasant but once again the original is superior.

Rich golden color and a few fingers of ivory foam. Aromas of herbal citrus and oaky tannins. Sweet tropical and citrusy fruits, like banana, mango, papaya, and orange, are blended, muted, and rounded-off with oaky tannins and suggestions of musky vanilla and coconut. Creamy smooth and softly carbonated. Impossible to just drink one.

Appears well-carbonated. It's a pretty average look for an IPA, if I'm being honest. I'm optimistic.

AROMA: Tropcial fruit mixes with bright floral tones and some evergreen/faint pine. Pale malt sweetness is present is just the right amount to keep it balanced, judging by the aroma. Tangerine, mango, citrus. Caramalt sneaks its way in but doesn't contribute too much sweetness.

Barrelwise, there isn't much as far as I can tell. Certainly nothing I'd pick up on in a blind tasting. Vanilla? I guess, faintly from barrel sugars (vanillin). Dill? Nah, that's too far a stretch. I don't get any vivid expressive white oak aside from maybe a reticent hint when I really search for it, but then I don't really want oak in an IPA anyway.

Aroma suggests a balanced flavourful IPA. I'm excited for the first sip.

Aromatic intensity is above average, though in terms of the style this isn't as "dank" as many (if you can stomach my use of the term).

TASTE: Hm. Caramalt is more pungent than I thought, and I do get some barrel sugar-derived vanilla in the third act (I guess because I'm looking; I doubt I'd find it in a blind tasting). Floral and piney hops join with tropical hops to good effect; luckily the tropical fruit is tangerine and citrus instead of the boozy pineapple I deplore in IPAs. Balanced yet hoppy, with plenty of flavour though depth of flavour could be improved (as with most beers).

Oak? Sorry, no. Maybe I'm just not used to looking for it in hoppy beers, but while I'll concede there's vanilla (vanillin), I find no rich white toasted oak in this. It does have impressive cohesion; maybe the oak is lending intangible unity to the build?

Flavour duration is ideal for an IPA. Flavour intensity is also right on the money for the style.

Adequate complexity. There's almost always room for more intricacy. It's a nice hop profile, but it doesn't really stand out as unique or special in the oversaturated IPA segment.

Complements the taste nicely. There's a natural harmony of flaovur here. I know the label tries to have us believe the finish will be "elegantly dry" but with all due respect to Cigar City I have to disagree. But I wouldn't want a dry finish anyway...

OVERALL: True to form, Cigar City's ostensibly oak-aged IPA is a solid brew within its style, though it arrives at its quality without committing to the gimmick it's marketed under...there isn't much barrel character here, and I have to wonder just how long they actually "age" it before shipping it out since it does still taste fresh. Does 2 weeks constitute "aged"? I guess it does for marketing.

But who cares? It's a tasty IPA that I'd happily buy again if not for the high price. I'd have to have it side by side with plain ole Jai Alai to really pick out the little nuances, but any beer that warrants a side by side with Jai Alai is a beer worth recommending in my book. More good work from a fine brewery.

Sampled a 2 oz. pour during CBC Boston 2016. Nice oak-centric IPA, nothing out of this world but with such a full bodied feel and hints of vanilla, berry, and floral notes, this is a beer I would easily return to.

"This is an American White Oak-aged version of Jai Alai India Pale Ale. The white oak adds smoothing notes of vanilla and slight hints of dill to the aroma and flavor profile. The finish is elegantly dry due to the light tannin notes from oak aging and though still loaded with hop flavor, hop bitterness is more restrained." Brewed in the style of an American IPA aged on White Oak, available in 12 oz. canned 4 packs and on occasional draft.

Poured from a 12 oz. can to a tulip glass.

(Appearance) Pours a crisp foamy head of a pale caramel white over a medium hazy copper-amber body with fine hazy sediment and light carbonation in tow. Retention is good and lacing is light and patchy. 4.25

(Smell) Hop nose of tropical fruit and juicy citrus forward with a moderate bitterness, and a pale and crystal malt body, very clean. Not much aromatic impact from the white oak in the aroma, but this beer smells incredibly inviting and enjoyable as an American IPA otherwise. Potency is moderate. 4

(Taste) Juicy tropical fruit notes of mango and pineapple with delicate grapefruit and tangerine citrus flesh undertones, less acidity or strong hop bitterness. Malt profile is clean with a touch of caramelized malt, a moderate sweetness, and delicate and clean oak tannins which provide some subtle complexity, aiding both the malt and hop profiles. Very solid, enjoyable flavor. 4.25

(Mouthfeel) Texture is slick, moderately residual, lightly chewy, medium dry. Carbonation is moderate, generating a medium frothiness and a moderately crisp finish. Body is medium for the style, medium overall. Balance is nearly even hoppy bitterness to sweet malt body. Alcohol presence is mild and there are no off characters. 4.25

(Overall) A nice spin on Jai Alai, the white oak smooths out the texture in this beer, allowing the malt and hop profiles to be very expressive in this beer. Lots of enjoyable tropical hop flavor and moderate bitterness, very drinkable and enjoyable. This is certainly a variant worth picking up over standard Jai Alai if you happen to be lucky enough to find some. 4.25